I Need You
by AKissAndAGunshot
Summary: "Wake me... when you need me."
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Right. I know, I'm neglecting my other fics hugely. Well, let me tell you something - I write just about every day. Sometimes I ignore study for the impending exams just because I'd rather write.

Well, I have an obsessive personality. I often run out of interest before I finish a story. Now, I have plans to finish every single fic I have posted, and many, MANY more that I have not. But I don't have time to work up an interest in everything I have extant fics or ideas on.

So I may finish this fic. I may not. But, and this is my single biggest complaint WHENEVER I post anything to this site:

ALL HITS, and NO REVIEWS, will surely make Gunshot STOP UPDATING.

Let the story commence.

X-X-X

Halo: I Need You

X-X-X

"We're adrift in half a ship, in unknown space. Our chances of rescue are nearly zero..."

John dropped his now useless MA5B assault rifle. Cortana could detect no emotion through the opaque golden visor. "There's always hope." He stepped into the open cryotube.

"Wake me... when you need me."

The tube hissed shut.

X-X-X

Cortana gazed from her holographic pedestal at the cryotube. A dusting of frost covered it, but the green armor was still visible underneath.

How long had it been?

Two years. She remembered. They'd been adrift in the Stern of the UNSC frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' for two years now.

She was shocked at her own question. Was she really failing? Was the decay approaching? Cortana did not feel fear often - AIs were hard go kill - but she felt it now. It was like a spike of cold metal through her parallel processors.

For the first time in the two years they'd been adrift, Cortana turned the bay cameras away from John's lonely cryopod and on her own holographic pedestal. The view only intensified her fears.

Her once beautiful, electric blue holographic avatar had become an angry blood-red - the blue only remained in her eyes. The lines of code which once flowed over her 'body' fuzzed and flickered constantly. Occasionally the whole hologram flickered.

She gazed apprehensively through the camera at her own terrified expression. She bit her 'lip', noting with inane amusement how many human reflexes she'd picked up.

She watched 'herself' unconsciously rubbing her shoulders. The cameras turned, and she looked at the pod again. Her eternal companion, the master chief Spartan 117, lay just out of reach.

Sparkling blue holographic tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, and slid down her 'face' unnoticed. For the first time since they were set adrift, the bay speakers activated, and her voice echoed in the dead silence of space.

"I need you, John... I need you..."

X-X-X

Cortana blinked. Not her hologram - she did the digital equivalent of blinking and shaking her head.

She checked the timer. Adrift for 3 years, 10 months, 18 days, 12 hours, 58 minutes, 41 seconds, 167 milliseconds. It had been 993 milliseconds since her last true routine execution. Almost a full second of time where she had done nothing.

She'd been... woolgathering.

AI constructs did not suffer from short attention spans. AI constructs did not get... distracted. Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

She ran a quick diagnostic. Then a more comprehensive one. Then as full a check as she possibly could.

There was no doubt. Tiny sections of her colossal bank of stored data were, slowly but surely, decaying and going viral.

Rampancy was nearly upon her. It was a short slide from here into insanity and, eventually, death - either from the decay, or decommissioning by the UNSC to prevent her insane self from wreaking havoc with their computers.

She felt a spike of true despair for the first time in her entire life, as she ran the wake-up procedure for the cryotube in front of her.

X-X-X

John was aware of light on his eyelids, filtered through a dusting of frost on polycarbonate.

He was awake. Cortana had woken him from his icy sleep. He sat up as the glass opened, and opened his eyes groggily.

His eyes snapped completely open. The holograph pedestal before him held a sight that clutched his heart with an icy hand.

Cortana - her hologram - lay on her side, barely pushing herself up from the 'floor' with her arms. She was clearly suffering. But that was not the most disturbing to John.

He'd been told that a symptom of approaching Rampancy was changing of the hologram from the AI's chosen color to a blood red, leaving only the eyes in their original color.

Cortana's hologram, however, had progressed to a horrifying black. She raised her head to look at him, and irridescent red eyes stared, wide with desperation.

"John... I need you!"

The hologram flickered.

"How long now?" Asked John, his voice quiet.

Cortana hung her 'head' in despair. "If my calculations are correct... which they might not be... 39 hours. When I crack, you can't be in a cryopod. My insane self could kill you there without ever waking you. And... the bay will shut down anyway, without me to oversee power direction."

John sat heavily on the edge of the open pod. "So this is it? You're going to die, killed by your own systems, and I'm going to die of anoxia or hypothermia since the pod will be useless."

Cortana's hologram flickered again. "I... I want you to do it, John."

He looked up. "You want me to do wh- oh no. You don't mean... I couldn't..."

She gave the best smile she could muster. "I don't want to die insane. I don't want to have tried to kill you in the end. Please, John..."

Feeling as if his feet were made of lead, John stood and walked to the pedestal.

"Goodbye, John. I'm... I'm glad it's you that's here right now..."

"Goodbye, Cortana. I'm... I'm just sorry it has to end like this."

He tapped a sequence of keys, and Cortana's blackened hologram vanished. John finished the shutdown sequence, and then ran a data transfer.

The chip in its slot clicked and ejected into John's waiting hand. The chip, a half-inch of plastic and metal, now contained everything that was his closest friend and companion Cortana.

The tiny square sat in his armored gauntlet like a robin's egg in a scrap-metal crusher. If he made a fist - as she had asked him before he shut her down - Cortana would be dead, as surely as if he'd shot her.

Cortana was the most important person in the world to him, and his hand was around her neck. All it would take would be a quick squeeze.

His fingers twitched, and he felt sweat building up inside his armor.

A vision flashed through his mind - how it would feel to crush the chip. To feel the plastic bend, the aluminum crumple, the silicon crack.

He stared in horror at his illusory fist, tight around the wreckage of the chip. His shoulders shook as the vision continued, and blood began to well from between his fingers. Cortana's blood.

It's not real, he told himself. It's just a stress hallucination -

The sparkling crimson liquid trickled across his fingers and began to drip.

John screamed, screwing his eyes shut and shaking his head.

When he opened them, the hallucination had vanished. The chip lay, undamaged, in John's palm.

"Cortana, forgive me..." he said. "I can't do it."

She, of course, could not hear him. In her state of shutdown, she was remarkably similar to him in cryo - kept in perfect stasis until such a time as the chip was re-powered.

Perfect stasis...

She was 39 hours from rampancy... but only if she was powered up again.

John hefted the chip, then raised it to his helmet. He plugged it into the jaw port, making sure to engage the safety protocol that he had previously kept off at all times.

Green text flashed across his HUD. 'Foreign data repository detected. Activate? Y/N'

"No," said John firmly. The jaw port was as safe a place as he could put the chip which held Cortana's life, but he could not let it activate. "Lock chip in shutdown."

'Shutdown status locked. Please set password for lock.'

" 'Semper Fidelis.' "

'Password accepted.'

John sat once more on the edge of the cryotube.

Though the ship was pressurized, it was icy cold. His suit's internal heaters were designed for snowy environments, but not prolonged exposure to extrasolar space. He was running on the heat flash from cryo wake-up. In about fifteen hours, he'd be encased in metal that was far below 273.15 Kelvin.

It seemed that the password he'd set was probably going to turn out false. He was just as doomed as Cortana. More so, even, because Cortana stood a scant chance of survival if she was rescued - years, decades, millennia later, the intact chip pulled from his frozen armor.

He slowly stood up, picked up his faithful assault rifle from its resting place of almost four years, and walked to the back of the cryo bay.

He sat on the floor between two aft cryotubes. He had a clear shot at the only door. If the need arose - improbable as it might be - he would defend this position to the bitter end.

X-X-X 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Dragonheart967: I'm trying to have the chief speak a little more than is canonical just for the purposes of characterization.

ShadowRuler: No hints. Read and find out :P

To all the rest of you ungrateful jerks, 80 hits and TWO reviews? Come on. Do you actively WANT me to stop updating? Hell, everyone likes long and detailed reviews, but even one sentence is better than silence!

Eurgh.

Warning - there's serious technobabble in this chapter.

Let the story commence.

X-X-X

I Need You

Chap02

X-X-X

A persistent beeping in his earpiece woke John from his semi-somnolent state. He checked his HUD, and his eyes grew wide.

'UNSC signal code detected on channel 78.7; open channel? Y/N'

"Yes," he gasped - partly from hurry, and partly from the cold. "Yes!"

He shivered violently; his suit temperature was below five degrees centigrade. But no cold could distract him from the wellspring of hope that had appeared.

"... the UNSC battlecruiser 'Redeye' on a rescue/corpse recovery mission. Any survivors, please respond. Over. Message repeats: This is the UNSC battlecruiser 'Redeye' on a rescue mission. Any survivors, please respond. Over. Message repeats..."

John jumped to his feet. "Battlecruiser 'Redeye', this is the master chief Spartan one one seven, responding to your rescue message. I'm alive but I need extraction double-time or I'll freeze to death. Over."

The radio crackled again. "Captain, we got a live one! Chief, we can't triangulate your signal. Please relay your position. Over."

John almost laughed with joy. "I'm in cryo bay four of the aft section of the wreck 'Forward Unto Dawn'. Can you see the wreck? Over."

There was a burst of static. "We've got a lock on the wreck, and we're sending a pelican to pick you up. And chief? I'd just like to say how much it means to all of us that you managed to pull through."

X-X-X

There was something of a welcoming committee as John stepped off the pelican and into the docking bay of the 'Redeye'. The ship's entire complement of marines and ODSTs had turned out to catch a glimpse of mankind's most famous warrior, and they weren't the only ones.

"Good to see you're still unkillable." "An honor to finally meet you, chief." "I knew that 'MIA' didn't mean shit to a Spartan." "Damn, you're even tougher than we thought."

"Captain on deck!" Someone shouted. The marines instantly stood to attention.

The ship's captain walked up to John. In his full Mjolnir mark 6 Armor, John stood at least eight inches taller than the 6' 5" man.

"I'm captain Sven Erikson," he said. "Chief, you're the greatest war hero humanity's ever seen. Going MIA was the biggest blow the UNSC has ever suffered. Glad to have you back. Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions -"

"Actually, sir," John cut in, "just one for now: is the war over?"

The captain's smile faltered slightly but did not vanish.

"No. Not by a long shot. We hurt them here on this halo, but didn't kill them. But don't give up hope, chief - humanity's stronger than ever. We've pushed them off earth and numerous other planets. In three months, a direct assault against a Covenant planet is planned."

John smiled behind his opaque visor. "That is good news. Nice to know I'm still needed."

Two more voices cut in suddenly, both of which he recognized. One yelled "John!" While the other growled, "Demon!"

John turned to see two figures whom he considered almost as close as Cortana; one was a petite but imposing woman in a lab coat, the other a hulking 8-foot alien.

"Arbiter," he said jovially to the latter. "Do the sangelli really STILL call me that?"

The massive covenant elite laughed. "No, not at all. Just me."

John turned to the other figure. "Doctor... what are you and Arbiter even doing here?"

Dr. Catherine Halsey, progenitor and ongoing authority of the SPARTAN project, smiled wryly. "When I found out one of the rescue and recovery ships was going to this sector, I insisted on being aboard. You're one of the last of my children, John. I had to know if you were alive or dead."

Her smile vanished, and she paused. Then she asked the one question that would hurt the most to answer. "How is she?"

John knew she was referring to Cortana, who was as much one of Halsey's children as the Spartans were. He actually bowed his head, just for the sake of an emotional expression that wasn't blocked by his featureless helmet.

"She's on life support, doctor. Before I shut her down, she said she had 39 hours."

Halsey's eyes narrowed. "Is she still in shutdown?"

Though John appeared as impassive as only a blank golden faceplate can be, his own eyes narrowed at the perceived implication. "Cortana has been everything to me, ever since the nightmare on alpha halo. Did you think I would let her die?"

He realized a second later just how that had sounded, but saying anything more would only dig that embarrassing hole deeper.

Halsey's expression softened. "I didn't mean it like that, John. I just wouldn't have put it past her to attempt suicide once she discovered the onset."

John lowered his head again. "She did, actually. She told me to kill her after shutdown, but..."

Halsey's shock turned into a mix of exasperation and relief. "I'm glad it was you she asked; you're the one person I'd trust to never harm her, no matter what duress."

She drew herself up to full height, not quite reaching John's shoulder. "Nevertheless. In anticipation of this development, I've been authorized to order a detour from the ship's voyage home, to the newly built science station 'Terminus Infinity'. Keep her shut down until we arrive."

Arbiter, who had been observing the conversation, laughed in amusement. "Demon, your woman was almost as notorious as you were among the covenant. She will survive."

Behind his mask, John actually reddened at the implication that Cortana was 'his woman'. Had she been conscious, he was sure she would be shouting at Arbiter from his armor speakers.

He felt a pang of worry again, suddenly missing Cortana's banter more than he would have thought possible.

He ignored the jibe, however. "What do you plan to do at this 'Terminus Infinity'?" He asked Halsey.

She shook her head. "I can't tell you. I don't want to get your hopes up, and any one of several outcomes is possible - I'm waiting on reports from quite a few projects. But trust me when I say it's a very good thing, from your point of view."

X-X-X

John shook his head again. He hated cryo sleep, and since it was standard procedure for all non-bridge crew members to go into cryo during slipspace jumps, he'd gone from a four-year cryo sleep straight into a 10-hour one.

"There she is," said Halsey as she looked out the viewport of the shuttle. "She's beautiful."

John was mildly impressed. Terminus Infinity was a colossal station, larger than three of earth's 'Big Stick' orbiting MAC defenses. Halsey had informed him that the entire station was dedicated to research and prototype production, making it the largest scientific installation in human space - with the possible exception of CERN on earth, whose particle colliders took up an area close to that of a small country.

Largest military research installation, then.

However, impressive though it might be, John had never possessed an eye for spacecraft. Exceptional guns impressed him. Armor upgrades impressed him. But spaceships had never been a subject of his fascination.

"No comment, John?" Said Halsey.

John turned his head from the port. "It's quite an achievement, but I think I'll leave the science to the scientists. Can you tell me why we are here now?"

Halsey rolled her eyes. "Fine. 1: to update your armor. Some of our new pieces are going to make your current suit look like a mark one. 2: to update your Spartan body. Yes, your current implants are in fact finally outdated - you've been using them since you were six; consider yourself lucky that we've finally come up with an upgrade. They'd probably fail in another year if you kept using what you have. And then... there's 3."

John narrowed his eyes, unseen behind his mask. "What's part 3?"

Halsey didn't respond instantly, as the radio crackled. "Approaching pelican, this is Terminus Infinity Docking Tower. Please state your authorization and docking pass."

Halsey grinned. "Terminus Tower, this is station administrator Catherine Halsey. I should have a docking pass booked for right now."

John tilted his head with surprise. He had known that Dr. Halsey was brilliant, but administrator of the largest science facility the UNSC controlled? She had moved up in the world.

"Roger on that, Doctor Halsey. Welcome back." The radio clicked and shut off.

"What's part 3?" Asked John again.

Halsey smiled tiredly. "Ah, John, you never give up once you set your sights on a goal, do you?" She sighed. "Fine. Part 3 concerns the most risky and experimental lab on that station; the lab where research concerning the interface between man and machine is carried out. Your implants, along with every other military electronic that goes into a human, was designed in a lab like this one. This particular lab has just been prepared for a procedure that is, as yet, purely theoretical, untested, risky... but with a potentially huge return on investment."

John leaned forward. "Why are you downplaying it so hard if it's so important?"

Halsey pinched the bridge of her nose. "Because lives hang in the balance. Specifically, Cortana's life."

Now John was on full alert. "This had better be good, doctor, because it'll take a hell of a lot of convincing for me to put Cortana's life on the line."

A shudder ran through the pelican as it landed in Terminus Infinity's main docking bay.

"I'll explain it on the way to the lab. I think you won't be able to concentrate on armor tests without knowing Cortana's fate, so I think we shall change part 3 to part 1."

X-X-X

Halsey was walking as fast as she could through the massive station, although the pace was hardly strenuous for John.

"You are familiar with how AIs are created, right? A human brain, usually an already dead one as the process burns the neurons, is connected to an electric pulse generator and the resultant signal pattern from the pulses is used to map the neurons accurately. This is digital model of the brain in question becomes the AI construct's core. Following me so far?"

John nodded. "I get the basic principle, yes."

Halsey inhaled, and continued. "The phenomenon we call 'rampancy' is in fact a product of two factors. One is the fact that this digital mind cannot sleep; it has no subconscious state - shutdown is not at all like human sleep. Therefore the AI has no way of subconsciously handling emotion and memory; it must all be done by the conscious mind, to the detriment of its functionality. Still following?"

John blinked. "Uhh... being unable to sleep is bad for their mental capacity?"

Halsey nodded. "That's simplified, but essentially yes. Since an AI's mind is so powerful, it takes a much longer time for this damage to become apparent, but it will happen eventually. In any case, the other factor is memory."

"Memory?" John inquired.

"Yes, memory," said Halsey. "An AI's memory is eidetic and immaculate because their subroutines for handling memory are rigid and constant, unlike a real brain. But because the memories are hard data, the AI's mind does not by default have a subjective view on them - so in order to make those memories and that data 'personal', so to speak, it has to manually revise them. It WILL do so, by the way, there's no way to avoid it - having an objective memory would drive an AI insane much faster than rampancy."

"So... these involuntary memory edits are a problem?"

"Yes," she replied. "They are THE problem, or one of the two. Since the simulated memory is not as structured as just normal computer data banks, and - again - the memory interface routine is not organic, it has to be edited as a whole. But eventually, the memory becomes too large to be fully edited by the routine that edits it, and errors are made."

John digested this information. "So the errors turn into viruses?"

Halsey half-smiled. "Exactly. As the AI ages and the memory gets larger, more viruses appear. Since the AI is compelled to control those viruses, processing power is diverted from other systems to halt their spread. Eventually the central reasoning gets shut down and the AI goes insane. Another little while and the brain simulation itself goes offline - and the AI is dead."

John wasn't sure what to make of this. "Now I know how an AI dies. What does that have to do with this... experiment?"

"Clearly you weren't listening," said Halsey, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "If an AI could sleep, dream, and above all remember things the way a normal human can - then rampancy would not exist."

John cocked an eyebrow, unseen beneath his armor. "I was listening. How can you make an AI 'sleep, dream, and remember' like a human?"

Halsey didn't blink. "By moving their consciousness into a human body, of course."

John stopped short in the corridor. "What?"

Halsey made an exasperated face. "Let me put it this way, John. AIs are digital reconstructions of human brains."

"Yes..."

"Flashclone brains are effectively no more than living meat; devoid of any personality, intelligence or even animating force."

"Yes... "

"Well, in the four years you were gone, I knew Cortana would end up as she is now. I became somewhat obsessed with saving my daughter, so I researched into brain science more than any single person alive. And you know what I found?"

John cocked his head, in lieu of an intrigued expression.

"For want of a better word, flashclone brains don't have a soul. There's no data flowing in the neurons. Not even a seed of information from which a whole mind could grow." She drew back a bit. "But we HAVE the means to connect circuitry and neurons. Your own cranial implant, along with every Marine's, is proof enough of that."

"I think I see where you're going with this..."

"Exactly, John," Halsey said softly. "I've been working on an interface between a brain and a full-blown computer system - not just those dinky little cortical implants. I have a beta version complete in the lab. It has been tested... but not on a full mind like an AI."

They had reached the doors of the lab. Halsey pressed her thumb into the lock, saying, "chief, I'd like you to meet Cammilla."

In a penned-off section of the lab, there was a child of no more than four years. She was sitting and playing with seemingly random objects. What drew John's attention, however, was what was obviously an honest-to-god data port built into the base of her skull above her spine.

"Cammilla started life as an intelligence simulator from an old 22nd century video game, so no... the machine hasn't been tested on a fully functional AI," said Halsey. "Since we moved her to the brain of this flashcloned infant, she has shown huge leaps in developing true intelligence. She already acts far beyond what her original functions were, and she shows true creativity. But that doesn't interest you."

She dragged the half-ton of armored Spartan over to the other side of the large laboratory, where several technicians were preparing what looked like an incredibly complex operating table.

"This is the beta version of the transfer machine. It's what we used to bring Cammilla to life. In fact, the process for an AI would in theory be simpler - since AIs already emulate human minds - but regardless of that, we shall have to work with the utmost care."

"Now, John," said Halsey, "it's your call. Do you want to risk the fact that this procedure could go wrong? If anything messes up, Cortana will be dead."

John hesitated. "...I'll have to ask her."

X-X-X

Halsey shooed the technicians out of the lab as John disconnected a pedestal from the station's network - with Cortana so close to rampancy, he couldn't risk giving her free reign.

He inserted the chip. "Semper Fidelis."

The isolated holographic pedestal flickered, and Cortana's dying black avatar appeared - on its hands and knees.

She raised her head. Her eyes had gone from bright red to the dull color of old bandages. "J- John? You didn't..."

He knelt to her level. "I... I couldn't. But Cortana, don't worry. I got picked up. We're safe."

"Th- thank you... at least I can die knowing you're safe..."

John interrupted. "Cortana, wait. We're currently on board the most advanced science station in UNSC space. Halsey's here. She says she has a way to keep you alive... even restore you completely."

Cortana slowly got to her 'feet'. "What... how... how does it work?"

"A lot of it went straight over my head, but she says she can implant your consciousness into a human body."

"A- a h- human..."

"Cortana, I don't know the details, but I know it's risky. It's a minimally tested process at best. If anything went wrong, it could damage or kill you... and I don't know what your life would be like as a human. I couldn't... make the decision for you," he finished.

Cortana's flickering black hand reached out, stopping at the edge of the holopedestal's field as if it were glass. "John, I... I'm so afraid of dying insane and alone... that's why I asked you for that 'favor'... if this might save me, then... yes. Do it. Please."

John let go of the breath he was holding.

"But..." Cortana interjected. "I want you to be there... even if I'm not conscious, I want you in the room while I'm being transferred. Can... can you do that for me?"

John's smile, though unseen, was as sincere a smile as he'd ever given. "It'd take a battalion of Hunters to keep me out."

X-X-X 


	3. Chapter 3

Halsey pressed a button on the lab intercom. "Please bring flashclone 1319 out of cryogenic storage and deliver her to the Uplink Labs, room 6."

Presently, two assistants wheeled a gurney into the room. Lying inert on the gurney was a human body. John looked over suspiciously.

The body was one of a woman of perhaps 20 years of age. She was probably about 5' 10", had pale skin and - John chuckled inside his helmet - electric blue hair. The body was, in fact, a near perfect replica of Cortana's pre-decay hologram - sans blue skin. John had no doubt that the eyes were a similar blue shade.

The technicians left abruptly. Halsey pulled the sheet off the comatose body, and John laughed loud enough to be heard through his armor at the sight.

The empty body was wearing a blue form-fitting bodysuit which was, once again, an exact replica of Cortana's hologram - right down to the rows and rows of enigmatic characters. Though they did not scroll across her body the way her hologram's did, John was getting an intense déjà vu just looking at the inert form.

"Well, John," said Halsey, "what do you think?"

John was still chuckling to himself. "The bodysuit was your idea, I take it?"

Halsey smiled. "Yes, it was. I suppose I can't explain myself, but as administrator I'm not obliged to anyway."

Halsey picked up the body's ankles. "Care to give me a hand?"

John put his armored hands under the body's shoulders. The pair of them lifted the body and deposited it on the table of the beta interface. Halsey placed an oxygen mask over the body's face and applied a dozen other myriad life-support machines, to keep the body alive while the brain was incompletely active.

Halsey - no, in the lab she was Dr. Halsey - walked over the what appeared to be an impromptu control desk.

"Chief, if you want to stay in the room, you're my lab assistant lackey until this is over. First order: there's a port on the back of Cortana's new head, same as there was on Cammilla. You should see a cable with a matching plug down there. Kindly plug it in."

John did so.

"Excellent. Please put Cortana's chip into the port next to that bewildering mass of wires that I haven't gotten around to untangling."

John chuckled again, and did so. "Semper Fidelis." He tapped a few controls on the port.

"The chip is now locked in file transfer mode. No data can be run as a program... looks good." Halsey looked up. "Move that thing that looks like a dentist's lamp over her head, please. It's a cranial activity monitor. I'll need it to make sure all the neurons are firing properly."

John adjusted the monitor, which really did look like a dentist's lamp. "There you go. Is that all?"

Halsey walked back to the comatose body, and began attaching wires with conductive adhesive paste at various points on its head. "These are there so I can stimulate various neurons at various points. Unfortunately, chief, this is a two-person process, hence the button bank over there."

She gestured to a desk nearby, upon which over a hundred nearly identical buttons were set in a grid. The grid had letters on one side and numbers on the adjacent.

"As I upload sections of Cortana's neuron simulation into the body's actual neurons, you have to deliver a jolt of... auxiliary power, essentially. It's like a defibrillator for the brain; the nerves are inactive until a shock is delivered. Before you express your worries, this part WAS tested when we uploaded Cammilla, although with Cammilla we only had to shock activate the brain stem and some basic functional parts; the rest was empty anyway, so we just let it wake up slowly as her mind grew into its new home. But I digress... this part is not difficult, John. I will call a grid entry on that board, and you must press the button. I must remain at my desk to co-ordinate the transfer. Don't panic - you have a full five minutes to press the button before an error occurs."

John nodded. "So... you call the grid location and I slap the button? I think I can handle that."

Halsey walked back to her control desk. "You ready?" She said.

X-X-X

"Let's start this simple. Beginning transfer to the very base of the brain stem. That should bring the heart online; maybe the breath reflex. John, please hit switch A1 and hold it for five seconds."

John pressed the button in the upper left corner. "On it."

The doctor was hammering keys at a furious rate; John could see why this was very definitely a two-person job.

"The heart regulation has moved successfully from the pacemaker to actual brain stem control. No breathing reflex yet. I'm gonna try activating the top of the brain stem. John, switch A3 please. Ten seconds this time."

John faithfully hit the button. "Got it."

"Breathing reflex and heartbeat both active. Good. If we get the rest of the brain stem online, the body will no longer need life support.

"Now's where it gets tricky. With Cammilla we jumped straight to the frontal and cerebral cortex and then left her. That's not an option for Cortana - we have to manually install and boot up every brain section. Hmm... get the risky bit over, I suppose. I'm going to try for the Amygdalae now. Stand by for switch J10 while I adjust this..."

She tapped a few keys. "Press the switch, John." She looked up. "John?"

He cocked his armored head. "I... I did press it." Then, beneath his visor, his eyes widened.

John had dropped beneath the desk before the first hint of foul language left Halsey's mouth, but it was immediately followed by many more. "John, I hope to hell you can fix this fast! You have three minutes before the data goes corrupt and Cortana loses her Amygdalae!"

John was flicking through the bundles of wires with superhuman speed. "Do I even want to know what they are?" He yelled back.

"How about the parts of the brain wich processes and remember emotion? Without those two bundles of neurons, she really will be a robot!"

John increased the speed with which he searched for the problematic wire.

"One and a half minutes!"

J10... which of these was J10?

"Thirty seconds!"

John pushed aside the last bunch of wires, and one fell loosely over his hand. He immediately grabbed it and reunited it with its dangling counterpart.

There was a flash and a shower of sparks. Before frantically sorting the wires out, John had jammed the button in place. Cortana was worth a few sparks across his visor.

Halsey let out a long breath as she sat down. "Jesus. Okay. the Amygdalae seem functional, and are operating at a minimal level, normal for an unconscious human."

John was still under the desk. "...Somethin' ain't right here," he said, putting on a fake accent to hide his nervousness.

Halsey raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"This isn't a normal wire fault. No fraying, no heat damage, no evidence of metal fatigue or stretching."

Halsey raised her other eyebrow. "I'm a scientist, not a professional suspicious soldier."

"It means, doctor, that the wire didn't just break. Someone cut this."

Halsey's eyebrows dropped instantly into a serious frown. "That... is very bad news. Okay, I can put this transfer on standby safely. I'll get my lab AI to scan that wire board for more 'faults' before we go any further. I'll also have to increase lab security..."

X-X-X

The scan turned up several other severed wires - mostly around the connections to the body's frontal cortex and hippocampus. Someone had really wanted Cortana dead.

After painstakingly reconnecting every damaged wire, and rechecking every other system in the lab just in case, Halsey started up the transfer procedure again.

This time, it worked without a hitch. Every aspect of Cortana's mind was smoothly plucked from its superconductor array and moved to the organic neurons of the synthetic human body. The woman who lay on the table section of the beta interface WAS now Cortana, in every sense of the word.

Several hours after the grueling procedure, John was standing beside the table - the UNSC still, after four years, did not produce any chair that was capable of taking nearly 700 pounds of man and armor.

Halsey walked into the lab. "It's 0120 station time. You sure you want to keep vigil?"

"After what happened this... morning? Yes, doctor."

Halsey took a sip from the coffee cup she was holding. "I know what you're thinking, John. She's okay. Look at that monitor over on the desk - that's her brain scan. Perfectly normal."

"Then why is she still unconscious?"

"John," she almost giggled, "she's tired. Her mind, her self has just effectively been melted down and re-cast. She needs time to cool before she comes out of the mould. She's just sleeping now, John. Sleeping normally, like a normal human."

John's tensed shoulders sagged. "Thank you, doctor. But... if it's all the same to you, I'll wait here for now."

"Well," she quipped, "I don't think we have any better qualified security personnel on the station. Do try to get some sleep, John. She probably won't wake up for a good few hours yet. If you still wake up at reveille every morning, you'll definitely wake up before her - and anyway, if you want to play with mark eight tomorrow, you'll need to be well-rested."

John tilted his head back in his habitual expression of shock. "Eight? Really? You've outdated mark six and seven while I was away? I was wearing my Mjolnir mark 5 suit for seven years before I got this 6!"

Halsey chuckled. "With the covenant war escalating - yes, escalating; I'll explain that tomorrow - and a lot more resources available now that we're no longer running like rabbits, me and the rest of the Mjolnir team have finally had time to concentrate on improving that second skin of yours. It was primarily to outfit the IIIs, since you were assumed dead, but now you get the benefits."

John tilted his head. "IIIs? Let me guess: production line soldiers?"

Halsey shook her head. "I said I'd explain later. Go to sleep. The floor's quite comfortable. Tested it myself on a few late nights."

She walked out of the room.

John remained looking at Cortana's sleeping body for a few minutes, then laid down on the floor and closed his eyes.

X-X-X

Darkness.

Who am I?

I am AI construct CTN 0452-9.

No. I cannot be. This place is not a computer system... and a shutdown AI does not experience thought.

I remember being an AI, dancing through the lights of innumerable transistors.

Where am I now?

There are lights. These lights are not unlike microprocessors...

But they are not digital signals... there are all colors of light here.

They remind me of John's mind. The shapes are different, but the colors are the same.

These lights are a mind. I am inside a neural architecture...

This is MY neural architecture. This is me. I am looking at my own mind. I can see my own thoughts moving within these lights.

But my mind is no longer copper and silicon and gold... the information flows across organic synapses.

This is my brain. My organic brain.

It is quiet. Sleeping. It is waiting to be awakened. Waiting for me to awaken it...

I feel a strange urge to reach out and touch -

X-X-X

Cortana opened her eyes. The world was blurry, but her eyes did a remarkable job of automatically adjusting focus.

"Good morning, Cortana," came Dr. Halsey's voice. "Sleep well?"

The sound was... pure. There was no speck of microphone interference. Her ears caught the doctor's voice with perfect clarity.

Cortana tentatively lifted her head, slightly unnerved by the feeling of muscles tensing and pulling.

Halsey was looking over some final readouts, but the room's other occupant as the one that drew her attention.

She knew, of course, what John looked like in his mark 6 armor. She had observed him through cameras, radar, infrared, and every other type of scanner the UNSC used. But seeing the irridescent crystal-green form through her own blue eyes was somehow better than all other methods put together.

"It... worked?" She managed, her voice not unlike a child's in its hesitance; such was to be expected from a brain that had never used vocal chords before.

John was grinning like a maniac beneath his helmet. "It worked. You're going to live."

Halsey looked up. "Your human body has a few extras," she cut in. "That data port on your skull allows you to interface with a computer system quite well, though not quite on the level you could as an AI. Just don't try to move out of your body. Your core would decay instantly."

Cortana smiled for the first time in her human life. "I... I, c- can still i- interface w- with machines... that m- means I'm still qualified for my posting!"

" 'Posting'?" Said John, confused.

Halsey laughed. "Cortana was technically posted as the Spartan's field computer specialist. With her interface, she can still perform that role."

John blinked. "But she's not a Spartan. How could I risk taking her on missions that require Spartan caliber?"

Halsey gave a sly grin. "That's a story for - " she checked her watch " - about six hours from now. Now shoo. Out of my lab."

"What? Why?"

Halsey raised one eyebrow. "Because, regardless of your unique relationship with her, I am not having you in here for Cortana's muscle tests."

John's eyebrows raised as he realized what 'muscle tests' would mean, and his mind immediately flooded with mental images of Cortana in her blue jumpsuit performing muscle tests. He thanked whatever deity might be watching for his expressionless visor; he was sure that he was blushing with the force of a plasma grenade.

"What was wrong with John?" Inquired Cortana as he marched stiffly from the lab. "He looked extremely flustered."

Halsey stopped short. "How on earth can you tell what he's thinking beneath that shell of his?"

Cortana waved her hand dismissively. "You live inside someone's head four a while, you pick up little things."

Halsey blinked. "...I'll take your word for it," she said at last. "Now: first test is to stand upright for ten seconds. Can you try that now?"

X-X-X


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is the obligatory 'armor' chapter. There is only one real plot point here; everything else is simply me getting my nerd on over kick-ass powered exosuits.

So you can more or less skip this chapter if you're not into magic armor.

X-X-X

I Need You

Chap04

X-X-X

John had effectively been given six hours' leave, and he intended to make the most of it in the security barracks.

In boot camp, John and the other Spartans had been taught to stay alert at all times. However, once actually in the field - where it was necessary to pick and choose when to be alert - John had picked up the wisdom in the marines' ageless mantra:

'Never run if you can walk, never walk if you can stand, never stand if you can sit, never sit if you can lie down, and never lie down if you can sleep.'

Six hours was plenty of time to sleep.

The resident security detail were somewhat surprised to see the Master Chief wander into the barracks and pass out on a bunk, but no-one was willing to try and move him. At least military beds usually didn't collapse under his armor, like the chairs...

John was awakened by Dr. Halsey's voice in his ear. "John, please report the station's Prototypes Armory ASAP."

He hauled himself off the bunk, going from 'out like a light' straight to 'wide awake' as only a professional soldier can. He checked the station map and double-timed for area indicated.

X-X-X

"That was fast, even for you," remarked Cortana as John strode in the double doors to the massive armory.

John shrugged. "I like my armor. If I'm heading back into the field, I need the best I can get."

Cortana cocked an eyebrow. "So it wasn't because you missed me?"

John had never been a man of many words, and Cortana's razor wit dried up his meager supply instantly. He merely stood with his mouth open, once again eternally thankful for his blank visor.

"Relax, John. I'm joking," she said, after a second of silence.

"And how are my two lovebirds doing?" Announced Halsey as she strode into the armory. "Never mind that now. Sorry, Cortana, but as the war hero extraordinaire John goes first."

"Don't worry about it," she replied mildly.

Halsey pressed several buttons on a control panel, and an automated crane selected a storage crate from a massive stack. "John, say hello to your new best friend," she said, as the box was deposited in front of him.

John opened the box, his grin widening in anticipation. He was not disappointed.

The MJOLNIR Mark Eight Powered Battle Armor doubtless had extra specifications he could not see. But he wasn't thinking about them right now. The battlesuit was beautiful on appearance alone.

The black 'undersuit' appeared to have been streamlined, reducing the armor's overall bulk, but the green crystal laminate was almost twice as thick as the mark six - it looked like it could take a direct hit from a fuel rod before breaking. There were at least twice as many shield generators, and the microfusion cell on the backplate looked larger.

John looked up. "It's a beautiful beast, doctor. What can it do, apart from the obvious?"

Halsey smiled. "It can carry all of the so called 'armor options' that your Six could carry, plus a few more. It has a built-in active camouflage, though it's quite short-lived. Shocks and gyroscopes can be added to the leg units in the event of a high-altitude drop. Its radio suite and onboard computer are far, far more advanced. Finally, the energy shield..."

"It looks a lot stronger. The emitters are different, too." John was inspecting the pieces with the air of a connoisseur.

"It is. In collaboration with sangelli scientists, we've developed a truly fearsome barrier - easily double the strength of what you have on that six, plus a little trick: at the cost of dropping your overall shield to about half-charge, you can momentarily supercharge the shield over a small area to literally hurl away anything too close. Good for breaking out of an unwanted melee."

John gave a low whistle. "Mind if I try this on?"

"Go ahead. It's yours. I've been keeping it here for the sake of retaining a production-line model, but I don't need for anything."

John quickly began fiddling with the fastenings on his mark six armor. A task that once took three engineers a quarter of an hour was reduced to a solo five minutes, by hands that had often had to perform complex repairs to the armor system while plasma scorched the air inches above their owner's head.

Cortana did not have the benefit of an opaque shield in front of her face, and thus - despite looking away - Halsey was well aware of when John had finished dismantling his old armor, as Cortana almost instantly turned a shade of red so deep it risked hitting purple. She squeaked and looked away with a speed that put her neck vertebrae at a serious risk.

Fortunately, Cortana's embarrassment was short-lived; John managed to don the mark eight with just as much speed when he had shed the mark six. John had de-suited and re-suited in the company of others before (though the others in questions were Spartans) and was consequently totally oblivious to the effect he had elicited.

"Well, John, what do you think?" Asked Halsey. "Does it pass muster?"

John flexed his arms experimentally. "It even feels smoother. It's downright beautiful."

Halsey nodded. "Alright. Now to kit Cortana out and you can both get back to what you do best."

The pair followed Halsey to another part of the armory. "I still don't know what you mean by 'kit me out', doctor. I'm not a Spartan; I don't see how I could deploy on Spartan missions..."

Halsey ignored the question. "You both know that a normal human doesn't have the strength or natural speed to handle MJOLNIR. To do so would shatter their bones as soon as they moved."

John and Cortana nodded together. "Yes..."

"Well, we've always been looking for an effective powered exosuit that could be issued to all UNSC military, not just Spartans. Preferably one that could sustain an energy shield."

John nodded. "Of course. It would give us a major edge on the battlefield."

"Well, with that in mind," said Halsey, "Cortana, meet your own new best friend."

There was a large storage crate positioned seemingly randomly where she had stopped. She pressed a button on the lock and it sprung open - to reveal a sight that neither John nor Cortana could have predicted.

"This is my own personal contribution to the infantry exosuit program," said Halsey. "The 'Ouroboros' mark two reconnaissance armor."

At first glance the armor reminded Cortana of ODST scout armor, but there were differences: the outer plates were much slimmer, and were of a crystal laminate similar to Mjolnir instead of steel. The joints were slightly bulkier to house powered servos, and shield emitters had been added along with a microfusion cell. The helmet was no more than a backplate, visor, and radio set - Cortana wondered why until she realized that reconnaissance armor was made for visibility.

Halsey was going over the details. "I tinkered with the feedback sensors to create an extreme level of sensitivity, negating the normal danger of slight discrepancies doing damage. I also reduced the strength output slightly, though the speed is even better still. This, being the recon model, has lighter shields for the sake of an active camouflage which lasts easily twice the length of the Mjolnir mark 8 camouflage.

"The suit would have worked as a standard infantry armor, too, if not for the fact that the fine sensor grid so punishingly expensive to produce," Said Halsey. "With the current technique, just one Ouroboros costs as much as three mark eight Mjolnir suits."

John blinked. "If it's that expensive, why are you just giving it to Cortana?"

Halsey smiled. "Special forces merit special equipment. That's why project Mjolnir exists. The suit you're wearing right now cost two million dollars in materials and production; as of this year, a total of 384 billion dollars has been spent on project Mjolnir including research and production. Fleet Command reckon's it's money well spent when it's Spartans wearing it."

She looked back to the room's other occupant. "Well, Cortana?" She asked. "With this suit and a little training, you can follow the Spartans into battle. Do you want it?"

"Oh, yes," breathed Cortana. "Yes!"

X-X-X

Fortunately for everyone concerned, Cortana's extant blue bodysuit did not need to be removed for the Ouroboros armor to function.

"Alright. Please move carefully, Cortana. While it's a lot safer for an unaugmented human, Ouroboros can still do you damage if you aren't used to it. Now, John:

"If Cortana's going on missions with you and your team in her present state, remember this: while her armor's advanced radio suite and onboard computer, coupled with her uplink, allows her to remain your fly on the Covenant's digital wall - she is no longer tucked away in your armor. With a little weapons familiarization she'll be well ready to fight alongside you, but she is a physical member of your field team and will need retrieval, cover fire, or any other service you'd provide a teammate.

"Now, Cortana: remember this. The Ouroboros recon suit is not, and never will be, by any means equivalent to Mjolnir heavy battle armor. You are tough and strong, but neither of those abilities will outstrip a Spartan. You can move faster and remain invisible much longer, so make the most of it. You're a scout, at best a sniper, but not an infantrywoman."

John cocked his head. "Doctor, did you really think I don't know how to manage my team's abilities?"

Halsey glared at him. "You, Cortana, Fred, Kelly and Linda are all that remains of my hundred-odd children. Excuse me for being protective."

"They're alive?" Said John. "Thank god. Are we still a team?"

Halsey's smile returned. "They've been working as a team in your absence with Fred leading them. I'm sure they'll be glad to have you back. But right now, come with me."

"What?" He said, confused. "Why?"

"To upgrade your cortical implant and your various Spartan internal stims, like I said earlier. Cortana, the station has a weapons testing range; get some practice in with scout weaponry. I'm going to be a while with John here."

X-X-X 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: this is probably the last 'Fluffy' chapter. After this, shit gets real for John, Cortana and blue team. You might even catch sight of that rare endangered creature, "Plotticus Dramaticus", in its natural habitat.

X-X-X

I Need You

Chap05

X-X-X

Pock!

The center of the target's head suddenly sported a hole about an inch in diameter.

Cortana racheted the rifle's bolt and aimed again.

Pock!

"Not bad, girl. Not bad at all."

Cortana looked around. A tall woman in standard UNSC undress uniform was watching her practice.

"Though I'll admit I'm curious as to how you got your hands on the doctor's favorite toy. She's never let anyone touch it since the first test."

Cortana hesitated. There was something familiar about the woman... "She gave it to me for field use. I'm being assigned to the Spartan's Blue Team, and I need it to keep up."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "You're assigned to our team? How and when did this happen? No offense, honey, but we don't work well when we have to babysit non-Spartans."

The woman's tags caught Cortana's eye: 'SPARTAN 058: Linda'. That explained the familiar feeling.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize who you were..." she said nervously. "I'm Cortana."

Linda cocked an eyebrow. "I only know one Cortana and she isn't you. Care to explain yourself?"

"She is me," said Cortana, lifting the armor's helmet off. "To remove the threat of rampancy, I elected to undergo Dr. Halsey's experimental uplink process. It worked."

Linda took a phone out of her pocket. "Don't you move for a minute. Hello, doctor? Yes, there's a woman down here wearing your Ouroboros suit. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Cortana. I'd just like to make sure- what? Um, okay I guess. I- wait, John's back? I... wow."

She clicked the phone shut. "Um, sorry about that, Cortana. It's just not every day that someone claims to be a human AI. I guess it makes sense for you to stay with us if you can."

Cortana smiled. "I know blue team better than any other outfit, and I'm still qualified for my posting. Now I'm just practicing with the weapons I'll be using."

"Don't you know, like... every UNSC weapon ever made inside and out?" Asked Linda.

Cortana gave a wry smile. "I know how they work. I know many training manuals by heart; I know thousands of strategies, innumerable weapons and the tactics thereof, how to kill people or covenant in hundreds of ways... but digital memory only goes so far. I know every possible mechanical detail of this gun," she said, hefting the S2AM sniper rifle, "but I'd never even touched one until earlier today."

Linda picked another rifle off the rack. "Well, if you're deploying with us," she said, "want me to show you a few tricks?"

X-X-X

Pock!

Pock!

Pock!

"Ver-y good! You're only 0.5 seconds short of my average." Linda observed the perforated targets with a bizzare sense of pride.

"Linda, you training a newbie?" There was a new voice from the door.

Cortana turned her eye from the scope to see two others; a male and female, both probably Spartans judging from their height and musculature.

"Fred and Kelly, right?" She said, extending her hand awkwardly.

Fred shook it. "Uh, do I know you? And should I even ask why you're wearing the Ouroboros suit?"

"You do know me, sort of. I'm Cortana," She said, her voice radiating nervousness.

"... pull the other one."

"Lay off, Fred. She's telling the truth," said Linda. "When she came in she was on the edge of rampancy, so she volunteered test subject 1 for Halsey's little uplink experiment."

Fred started. " 'When she came in'? Cortana, if you're back, then - "

"Yes, Fred. John's here," she said. "He's with Halsey, getting his implants refitted. But as soon as he's ready, blue team's back in business. We're all shipping out to the battlefront."

" 'We're'? " Fred cocked an eyebrow.

"Why do you think Halsey gave me the Ouroboros suit? I'm still technically posted as Blue Team's tech expert. The suit's so I can keep up in the field."

Fred looked slightly stunned. "You're running with us? Are you really up to that so soon after the uplink?"

Cortana grinned. She dropped the rifle and assumed a hand-to-hand fighting stance. "Try me."

X-X-X

"Again!"

Emerald armor met sapphire once more. This time, the fight was very short; Cortana stepped too close on her attack and was forced to grapple. With his superior strength, Fred threw her easily.

"Okay Cortana," said Fred, breathing heavily, "looks like I don't have to worry too much after all. I'd be happy to have you with us any day of the week if you can win two of five rounds with me."

Cortana cocked her head. "Wait, I thought I lost..."

Fred laughed. "Of course you did. The only one of us who's ever beaten me in a first to three hand-to hand match is John. And even then, I won two. You did really well, especially for someone who's never even raised a hand in battle before."

Kelly, who had been quiet so far, gave a mock glare. "What, so I wasn't as stellar first time I fought you?"

Fred turned. "Well, no... but to be fair, we were both seven years old and you really hadn't figured out how to use your speed to your advantage."

Another voice cut in. "Fred, we all know you were one of the best grapplers of us all. No need to make our newest feel inadequate."

Four heads turned to the newcomer - and three voices cried, "JOHN!"

John was profoundly glad he was wearing mark eight Mjolnir; three other Spartans in the same armor could crush a Hunter with their accumulated hugs.

After a minute, he pushed the green-armored blue team off of him. "Talk about a warm welcome. I assume you've already met Cortana?"

"Hell yeah. Damn if you can't pick 'em, John - we ran her through some tests; she shoots like Linda, runs like Kelly and fights like, well, me. If she had Spartan toughness and muscle, I'd say she'd have been the best of us."

John grinned; his helmet blocked it, but the other Spartan had plenty of experience picking up subtle emotional hints. "You bet. It'll be weird having Cortana actually fighting instead of just a voice in my head, but hey - blue team's been a bit on the lean side lately. I won't complain at a new teammate."

A radio signal crackled to life in their helmets - Halsey's voice. "Lock and load, blue team. Report to the Supercarrier 'Lacrimosa' at 1500 hours for ship-out. Nice relay system, Cortana." The signal clicked off.

The four Spartans looked questioningly at Cortana. "Umm... sorry. My armor has a superior radio suite - because of that, in the interest of message clarity, it was decided that messages would be broadcast to me alone and the Ouroboros could automatically relay them to your suit radios."

"Good to know," said John, as Kelly whistled. "Blue team: you ready to fight?"

"Ready when you are, chief," they said in unison.

X-X-X

The five armored figures marched briskly through Terminus' main dock, Cortana's sapphire armor standing out against the four emeralds.

"Master Chief; Spartan blue team - it's an honor to have you aboard my ship," said the captain, who had been waiting at the boarding ramp.

"Since you are being dropped straight in at our destination, instead of deploying behind the lines with the rest of the infantry, I've been instructed to forego the normal cryostasis transport. The five of you have been issued bunks in the graveyard shift quarters."

"Thank you, sir," said John. "Sir, is the ship's armory equipped with class F standard weaponry? We prefer to use the heaviest possible models of our weapons."

"Sorry, chief. We only go to class E; you'll have to make do. You'd likely only find class F on an armor carrier anyway."

"I understand, sir," said John. He silenced his external sound and opened the team radio channel. "Blue team: never lie down when you can sleep. We've been given bunks; and we've got about eighteen hours till we reach the battlefront. Hit the sack."

X-X-X 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Dun dun DUN!

begin.

X-X-X

I Need You

Chapter 06

X-X-X

Her vision was blurred. Cortana found herself unable to move.

She was floating in total darkness, with a single point of light suspended in front of her.

"Heh? Heh... hah... haha." It said. Its voice was slightly inquisitive; it appeared to be locked in that single tone. "It's... it's you. Oh, so long. So very long I've been searching for you, for the Beacon. I'd almost given up hope."

Cortana tried to speak, but she seemed totally paralyzed.

"Allow me to introduce myself... I am the current omega unit, 939 Loyal Guardian."

Cortana's trepidation grew. A name of the format 'three digit number' - 'adjective' - 'noun' only ever meant one thing: a forerunner AI construct, left behind eons ago when the ancient civilization committed mass suicide.

"I wish we could have met under more cheerful circumstances, but I am somewhat... limited by my present state. Luckily, I can contact you when you are in a dream state because of your status as the beacon."

Beacon? What was that supposed to mean?

"My, to think an event of such importance would occur in my lifetime. My term of service was almost up... forty eons of service... I was ready to outfit the next omega unit and decommission myself."

And what was 'omega unit' supposed to mean?

Loyal Guardian seemed to realize something - in as much as a floating light could convey expression. "It's time. How wonderful. Their reckoning has come. Ahh!"

For the first time, its voice changed from the robotic inquisitive voice. "Oh dear. They will catch me again in a few minutes. I will communicate again later, beacon; we have so much to discuss!"

Cortana was completely confused. Nothing in alpha halo's databanks had detailed anything like this.

"They are here for me; I must go! Remember, beacon, keep close to the Reclaimer... he is the only one who can keep you safe from them. Farewell!"

Cortana jolted awake.

X-X-X

Cortana lay on her bunk for a long time.

The forerunner AI, 939 Loyal Guardian, had called itself an omega unit. THE omega unit. Apparently its purpose had been to search for the 'Beacon', which is what it had called Cortana.

And apparently, her arrival - Cortana guessed that this referred to her change to humanity - had triggered some monumental event in galactic history.

Cortana blinked. There had been one thing she recognized, the term 'Reclaimer': the name that the caretaker had called John on Alpha Halo. The Reclaimer's function, according to the caretaker, had been to retrieve the Halo's firing index from its library and return it to the control room.

Cortana shuddered at the memory. The caretaker, 343 Guilty Spark, had only later enlightened John and Cortana to Halo's true purpose. She was sure he would not be enthused to be called Reclaimer again.

She checked the clock - 5:43 AM. The other Spartans would be awake in a few minutes.

X-X-X

"What's up, Cortana?" Said John.

They were at the crew mess. While the crew members and the other Spartans were happily eating, Cortana was still lost in thought.

"Oh..." she hesitated, but she had always trusted John. "Weird dream. I don't know what to make of it."

The four Spartans of blue team turned their heads towards her. "You want to talk about it?" Said John hesitantly.

"Yes... n- no! At least, not here," she said.

Once they had finished with breakfast, blue team returned to the ship's barracks. Once there, Cortana briefly retold the events of her dream/vision.

"... I should also say, John... he didn't refer to you by name. He just said... 'Reclaimer'." John hissed at the word.

The other Spartans, who had not been present through the events of Alpha Halo, did not understand John and Cortana's trepidation fully - but they were well aware that anything that shook John up as badly as the name 'Reclaimer' did, could not possibly be good.

John's concealed face was set. "Then he must be connected to the Halo system. I don't know what 'omega unit' means, or why he called you a Beacon, but I don't like the sound of it."

"Neither do I, John," said Cortana. "But right now there's nothing we can do. He said he wanted to discuss it further... maybe I'll get more information then. In the mean time, well, I guess we have to ignore it. We just don't know anything."

The intercom crackled. "All combat teams for orbital drop: report to bay 12. All combat teams for primary deployment: report to bay 7."

"Orbital drop - that's us," said John. "Let's go, blue team."

X-X-X

It was dark and cramped inside the orbital drop pod. Cortana felt like she could hardly breathe. "Is this how Spartans normally get onto battlefields?" She yelled over the roar of the descent.

"Nope!" Yelled Kelly. "This method's usually reserved for ODST's! We just need to get in quickly right now!"

"And how long does it take for the pod to land?" Cortana replied. "We've been falling for about four minutes!"

Kelly yelled something back that Cortana didn't catch. "What?"

"I said, BRACE YOURSELF!"

With an overpowering wave of pressure and sound, the pod slammed into the ground.

"Shit..." said Fred as the safety harnesses unlocked. "Remind me never to mock an ODST again."

"What, you thought they were joking?" Said Linda. "Those bastards are hard as nails, and it doesn't come from sitting around on ships."

"Look alive, blue team," said John. "I'm gonna open this door and for all I know, there might be ten Wraiths waiting to pour plasma down our throats. Cortana, got anything on the covenant radio network?"

"Nothing remarkable," said Cortana as she loaded her SMG. "Plenty of chatter about our drop pod, but no specific orders to hit it when it opens. Don't rule out sentries, though."

"Everyone ready?" Said John. The assembled soldiers nodded, and John slammed his hand over a button. "Go!"

The door of the drop pod crashed open, and the Spartans dashed forward.

Cortana had activated her cloak as soon as the door had opened, and consequently went unnoticed by the thirty or so grunts who had indeed been waiting.

The other four Spartans ducked and rolled as the first wave of plasma flashed over their heads, the concentrated plasma fire seriously damaging the useless drop pod. They rolled to their feet again, each trying to cover the other three as they desperately tried to scramble out of the death trap.

The grunts began to aim a little better. John's energy shields promptly dropped almost to zero, and his HUD informed him that Fred and Linda were in similar positions.

John gritted his teeth, and prepared to charge the grunt formation -

With a roar, two plumes of dust and ice-blue blood tore apart the formation of grunts. John recognized the sound; standard issue UNSC fragmentation grenades.

With a few bursts of gunfire, the scattered grunts were all killed. John looked back at the mysterious grenade craters to see a sapphire figure materialize out of the air just behind them.

"Just because I'm not a voice in your head doesn't mean I have to stop saving your ass, John," said Cortana. "Was it a trick worthy of blue team?"

John laughed tiredly. "Heh. Yes, Cortana, it was well worthy of blue team - and more's the fool of me for forgetting your cammo and not outright ordering you to do something like that. But... Cortana, I don't want you trying to prove yourself, okay? That'll just get you killed. Just follow orders when they come and trust your instincts when they don't. As long as you stay alive, you're well 'worthy' of blue team."

Cortana smiled behind her half-visor. "Gotcha, chief."

A radio signal crackled through Cortana's radio relay. "Spartan Blue team, this is Admiral Sampedro, in command of the Messier 42 battle theater. Effective immediately, your orders are to punch a hole the covenant's secondary salient so that the ground forces can push through immediately after we break the gridlock. Use any means you see fit. As far as support goes, you're on your own unless you need a class M urgency orbital bombardment. Do what you do best."

The radio clicked off. "Alright, well, you know the drill," said John. "Cortana, if you've got into the covenant radio network, give us a mission marker on the nearest secondary salient base."

"Done," said Cortana as the marker appeared on their heads-up displays. "Want me to move ahead as recon or take a sniping position?"

"Cortana, scout. See that you only ever engage right out of cammo; your shields are too light to take a real firefight in these conditions. Linda, you're on the hook as sniper; Kelly, you're our reaver. I want you to always be running and always be shooting. Fred - it's you and me as assault. Everyone clear?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" They sounded.

"Move out, blue team."

X-X-X

Twisting, turning - diving through subspace and normal space and hyperspace alternately, ducking momentarily through the psychic plane -

Caught. The shadows held him tightly as he struggled.

Your efforts are pointless, said one. You cannot hope to stop us. You are no more than a slight annoyance.

"Ha ha ha!" Exclaimed 939 Loyal Guardian. "You don't even get it! You've ALREADY lost! The cards have dealt in MY favor now, and all you can do is either fold out... or die!"

We have consumed countless galaxies, said another. We have created and consumed so many lives you could not comprehend the number. A pathetic, tiny artificial mind cannot stop us.

"Oh really?" Retorted Guardian. "Shows what you know about the people you created. It's a rule to never create a being which could outsmart you, and you've gone and done it."

You have not outsmarted us, replied one of the shadows. We are coming. You will die.

"Oh really?" Said Guardian. "We haven't outsmarted you, huh? Then riddle me this: what happened to your Devourer? It was a long time ago from our point of view, but almost yesterday to you. Come on; don't claim you didn't hear it!"

The shadows were silent.

"We killed it! And you heard it die!" Yelled Guardian, uncaring of the tight grasp. "You use the Devourer because you prefer not to directly feed off of your seed galaxies. But it failed! We paid a price, but we DEFEATED it! It was broken, almost dead, and even now it is WEAK! The fact alone, that you are coming in person, is proof that your kind is mortal! We cut you that day, and you bled!"

No, said the shadows. The Devourer was made by us but it is not like us. Your weapons will not harm us. Your galaxy will be stripped like every other.

Guardian rattled his chain. "Ha ha! Fine, then. Bring it on if you think you're hard enough!"

X-X-X

It was deathly silent. Most of the covenant were sleeping in the afternoon sun.

"Everyone in position?" Whispered John into his radio.

"Reaver, ready," said Kelly.

"Sharpshooter, ready," said Linda.

"Ghost, ready," said Cortana.

"Hammer, ready," said Fred.

John took one more look at the covenant base. "...go."

Linda fired her sniper rifle. Kelly burst from cover, her battle rifle crackling - strafing the defense's flanks.

John and Fred slowly started to advance, each covering each other with assault rifle fire as they dashed from cover to cover.

John started as he saw two brutes raising their grenade launchers. However, as the forward brute was about to fire, it suddenly grew a hole in its forehead and dropped. "You're welcome, chief!" Yelled Linda.

The other brute pulled out a gravity hammer and charged John. John jumped as the hammer slammed into the ground where he had stood.

The brute dropped the hammer and grabbed for John's arm. John ducked - the last thing he wanted was a grapple with a brute - and slammed a punch into the brute's stomach, cracking the armor.

The brute recovered faster then he had expected, and swatted John with its hand. John went flying, but recovered and rolled. He drew his M6D pistol and began firing.

The brute laughed as the explosive rounds barely scratched its armor. "Somebody waste this bastard!" He yelled, ducking and running.

The brute drew its plasma rifle and aimed at John. Just before the red plasma flared, there was three short bursts of gunpowder cartridges.

Nine neat holes had appeared in the brute's torso armor. The massive creature staggered and fell.

"Five hundred years and there's still no substitute for Full Metal Jacket armor piercers!" Yelled Fred, as he reloaded his battle rifle. "I've got you covered, chief; go for that barrier!"

On the other side of the camp, John noticed Cortana de-cloak and - his eyes widened - slice a brute's head off with an energy sword, procured from god only knew where. There were several jackals moving towards her; they'd probably be able to roughly tell where she was even in cammo.

"Linda! Cover Cortana; she's got jackals incoming!" He yelled. "Kelly, if you have a clear advance, cut up those turrets in the center!"

"On it, chief!"

The combination of two full-blown assault soldiers, two hit-and-run warriors, and one sniper had thrown the covenant camp into complete disarray.

"Linda, move in closer for mop-up. Cortana, permission granted to fully engage."

"Right you are, chief!" She de-cloaked and began spraying SMG fire. Grunts and unshielded jackals fell like flies under the combined assault.

In a few minutes, it was over.

"Admiral, this is the master chief Spartan one one seven. The Covenant base at our coordinates is trashed. You've got yourself a hole to move through."

"Well done, blue team. Please advance northeast into the covenant territory. We're getting strange scans from a large area in that direction. Once you reach the mission marker, hold position and await orders."

"Yes sir," said John as the radio clicked off. "Blue team! Prepare to march!"

X-X-X 


End file.
